Chronic inebriant Kenny Walters became a bit of a street-corner celebrity this weekend after he was featured in my column. Walters can often be found passed out on the sidewalk along Haight Street and has racked up an estimated $150,000 in emergency ambulance fees in the last year.

However, all the attention didn't change Walters' lifestyle.

Officer Sean Doherty checked in Monday to say he'd booked Walters Saturday night. After "one too many threats against me," Doherty said he cited him for "criminal threats, 422 Penal Code." Doherty says Walters has "a 37-page national rap sheet that includes at least four aggravated assaults on officers."

The only real change from the publicity? When the medics showed up to treat Walters, they said they recognized him from his picture in the paper.

The story about Walters got lots of comments from on SFGate.com as well as e-mails. Readers asked if there wasn't a plan that targeted the "frequent fliers."

One of the best was the Home Team, a program designed and run by Fire Department Capt. Niels Tangherlini. Begun in 2004, Tangherlini's outreach program was based on the idea of forming a personal relationship with the most frequent ambulance users. He was able to get some of them into treatment, but even if he couldn't, he knew the players and could often find a way to help them without using emergency services.

Unfortunately, the Home Team was a victim of this year's budget cuts.

"We can totally tell the difference in the ER now that it has been dropped," said Holly Bennett, a nurse who works in one of the city's emergency rooms.

There will be an interesting conditional use hearing on Sept. 10 for a Tenderloin grocery store. Karim Rantisi, who has run Grand Liquors for 20 years, wants to transfer his liquor license to a new site, Tip Top Grocery, across the street.

This isn't really about a grocery store, but a laudable attempt by community activists to cut down on the glut of liquor stores in the area. Rantisi says he's a hard-working guy just trying to make a living.

Maybe so, but if your goal is to cut down on liquor stores, you have to start somewhere. The planning staff is recommending denial of the permit. That's the right call.